


One + One

by Skyson



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Bonding, Christmas, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Hunter/Bobbi, Mack/Elena, May/Piper, QuakePatriot, Traditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-17 18:58:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13083294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyson/pseuds/Skyson
Summary: When they were finished, they both stepped back to get a good look at the tree. Daisy felt stupidly proud of the thing, and glancing over at Jeffrey’s face, he looked ridiculously pleased as well. She felt proud about that, too.“I love it.” He murmured, maybe to himself, but without looking away from the soft white lights, his hand slipped into hers.Wordlessly, she squeezed her fingers around his, returning the gesture as she looked back toward the tree.AU fluffy Christmas fic.





	One + One

**Author's Note:**

> Title from track of same name by Graeme James.
> 
> My first posted QuakePatriot fic, a Christmas gift to myself - and for anyone else in this wee little corner of fandom. ^_^

Christmas had always been something of an odd season for Daisy. At the orphanage, it was more of a celebration of the birth of Jesus (the exact date of which was always debatable to her; depending on if one followed the Jewish calendar, or some other). In her late childhood and early teens, it was always the worst time of the year because all the other girls and boys she’d more-or-less grown up with had families, had _events_ , and _things_ , and she was usually back at the orphanage with the sympathetic, sad-faced, head-shaking nuns. After meeting Miles, Christmas was a corporate holiday, and to waste their meager funds on gifts and decoration would be “bowing to The Man”.

Even still, Daisy had always made a point to attend a Christmas Eve service or Mass when she could. The nuns hadn’t _all_  been bad, and she felt it was her way of honoring the good that the orphanage had provided. Miles never joined her on these annual outings, but he also never mocked her, for which she was grateful. He had opinions over a great many things, and even though she herself didn’t always quite understand why she kept this one tradition over all the others, he didn’t question her on it.

Even that, though, became difficult to keep up.

The SHIELD team didn’t usually celebrate the holidays. Not out of choice, but simply because of circumstance; her first year flying on The Bus, the team had exchanged small gifts, and occasionally Christmas music could be heard wafting from the labs or someone’s quarters. Afraid to light a real candle within the confines of the plane, Daisy had pulled up a flickering image on her computer, and stared at it for a long time as she quietly hummed what few traditional hymns she could remember. It reminded her of the good moments within the orphanage, and made her smile.

As life continued to grow more hectic and complicated, celebrating Christmas fell to the wayside as they had to focus on taking care of hostile aliens, or the aftermath of the Triskelion, or the general tasks of living within a black-ops organization.

The holidays were weird and uncomfortable after they rebuilt headquarters yet again and things settled down after the LMD debacle. A few agents decorated here and there; some colorful Christmas lights in the lounge, some garland along the window frames of the lab. They were desperate for some joy back in their lives.

Hunter had even tried hanging mistletoe, as well, but the Director quickly shut that down. He told Hunter he could hang however much of the plant he wanted, so long as it stayed within Hunter’s own office and quarters. Much to Bobbi’s frustrated amusement, Hunter took that to heart; using the multiple sprigs hanging from his ceiling as extra excuses to get kisses from his wife.

Daisy had to admit, it was kind of cute. Married life surprisingly suited Hunter very well, either that, or he’d seriously settled down and matured during the time the two of them had been gone.

Even so, Hunter took to calling Director Mace “Scrooge” from then on, and Mace would only smirk a little and keep focused on whatever was on the task at hand.

So, Daisy was a little surprised when she walked into the kitchen late one evening to find Jeffrey standing at the stove, preparing hot cocoa in a silver sauce pan. He was wearing a red pull-over atop his white dress shirt, and while it wasn’t a distinctly “Christmas sweater”, she definitely got the impression he was trying to be festive.

“Are you making hot cocoa?” She wondered with surprise as she approached, looking over his shoulder into the pan. “I thought you hated Christmas.”

“What?” His serene smile dropped, and he looked at her, appalled. “Of course not! Who told you that?”

“No one, I just figured...” She snorted softly. “You don’t seem too fond of decorating.”

“Well,” He huffed, “I don’t mind _decorations_ , I just — we’re trying to win back our credibility, here. I don’t want the place to look _tacky_  when our political backers visit...” He pouted a little. “I love Christmas,” He muttered, ducking his head back toward the pan as he focused on stirring.

Filled with curiosity at that comment, Daisy decided to hang around for a moment.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean... You always seem amused whenever Hunter calls you Scrooge. I got the impression you took it as a compliment.”

He was quiet for a long minute, but that soft little smile eventually reappeared on his face.

“My mom and aunt always call my da Scrooge during the holidays.” He revealed, and Daisy raised her eyebrows in surprise. She leaned her hip against the counter next to the stove as she listened to him. “Don’t get me wrong — he’s a great guy — but anything other than finding and decorating a tree was beyond him. Mom loved redesigning the whole house, basically; lights on the front stoop, a tiny little Christmas town in the window, garland and stockings above the fireplace... and the house always smelled like pine needles and sugar cookies, all winter long.”

“It was her favorite holiday, huh?” Daisy mused, giving him a small smile. This was possibly the most personal story she’d ever heard from him, outside of the truth about Vienna. She’d certainly never heard him talk about family, before.

“Still is,” He shrugged, swirling an odd pattern with the spoon in the cocoa. “And mine, too. This is actually...” He trailed off, his ears tinging red. “Well, I guess it’ll be the second. The second time in my entire life that I haven’t spent it with them.”

Daisy blinked, surprised again, and unsure what to say.

“That’s really lame, isn’t it?” He laughed a bit deprecatingly at himself. “A guy my age, going home for Christmas year after year.”

“That’s not lame.” Daisy hurriedly interjected, meaning it. “I mean, it’s a little dorky,” He glanced at her, and she grinned at him, “but it’s kind of cute. Sweet, actually.”

“Dorky and sweet.” He repeated dryly, and then sighed. “Even better.”

“It kind of makes sense, actually,” She shrugged. “I imagine you didn’t get to see them much otherwise. I mean, if you get along with your family, it’s good to visit them at least once a year, right?”

“Well,” He snorted, “it certainly isn’t all holiday cheer — ” His amusement suddenly dropped, and he looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, Daisy. You probably don’t want to talk about family — ”

“Hey, I’m not going to hate on other people having decent family lives.” She raised her eyebrow slightly. “Sure, Christmas wasn’t always easy growing up, but I’ve learned to be happy with what I’ve got. Besides,” She hesitated, not wanting to push him away now that he’s opened up a little. “I kind of like hearing about your family. They sound nice, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard you mention them before.”

Talking about Christmas traditions with someone was nice, too.

He paused for a long moment again.

“I guess I haven’t.” He sounded mildly surprised at himself.

They shared a companionable silence for a couple of minutes while he continued to stir his cocoa.

“Would you like some?” He asked once the drink began to steam nicely. She nodded, and stepped around him to get two of the larger mugs from the cabinet to his right.

“Only if you promise to tell me some more stories about your mom and aunt ganging up on your dad during the Christmas season.” She gave him a cheeky smile, and he furrowed his brow a little at her.

“Really?” He clearly didn’t believe her interest, and to be honest she was a bit perplexed by it herself. She couldn’t really say why she was so curious to hear about his family, but she’d truly meant her request.

“Yeah, come on, Fitz’s mom sent him a bunch of big blankets from home, and he’s left a few of them here in the lounge.”

And that was how she ended up sitting at either end of the couch with Jeffrey Mace, both of them with a warm mug in their hands and blankets over their legs as they angled to face one another comfortably.  
  


**———  
**

 

A couple of days later, a particularly wily Inhuman decided to have a wrestling match with Daisy right after a blizzard had driven through the city. After breaking out some moves that Coulson had taught her, she didn’t have a problem reigning in the Inhuman and getting him secured in a pod for transport, but she was freezing cold.

Her gauntlets didn’t provide the capability of her to wear thick warm gloves, although she had forgone her Quake outfit for a heavy duty coat and boots. Even still, snow had gone down her collar and soaked the beanie on her head.

Her fingers were red, and hurt from the cold, and she couldn’t keep herself from shivering as snow melted down the back of her neck.

“Let’s get back to base before I turn into an icicle,” Daisy grouched as the ramp secured closed behind her and she plopped into one of the jump seats. She peeled off her wet hat and dropped it to the floor before shrugging out of her jacket.

“Here, Simmons thoughtfully threw in some thermal blankets,” May dug beneath the copilot seat for the emergency aid kit and tossed it into the back. “Wrap yourself up in one. ETA fifteen minutes.”

“Thanks, May,” Daisy replied gratefully to the pilot as she caught the box and propped it on her knees to dig out the silver Mylar. She knew she’d be fine once they get back to base, but the interior of the plane would only get so warm, and at the very least she wanted to stop her shivering.

“Inbound,” May called over the radio, and Daisy didn’t hear the response, but whatever it was made May smirk and glance back in her direction briefly. “We’ve almost got a little Quake-cicle on our hands.”

Daisy frowned at her S.O., who simply turned back forward with that smirk still firmly in place.

Thankfully the snowfall had died down considerably by this point, so they had no problems getting back to headquarters and transferring their Inhuman charge.

After getting the scrape on her cheek checked over by Simmons, Daisy immediately changed into the most comfortable pair of sweats she owned, and donned two pairs of socks. Their quarters were all slightly warmer than the rest of the base, but even still, being underground only afforded them so much.

She was most definitely _not_  sneaking when she made her way to the lounge to borrow one of the blankets out there for her own use. They were in public territory now, after all, and anyway, she was only going to keep it temporarily.

Although she was definitely _not_  sneaking, she still froze when she realized that the kitchen was occupied.

“Daisy!” Jeffrey sounded relieved, not reacting at all to the fact that Daisy had stopped moving mid-tug, the blanket in her fist halfway off of the couch. “I was hoping to catch you. Here,” he stepped around the dining table toward her, a mug in his hand. “I heard what happened during the mission this afternoon. I figured you might like something warm.”

She shrugged the blanket over her shoulders as he approached her, trying to act casual about the no doubt ridiculous way she was bundling up. She couldn’t help but brighten when she recognized the mug she’d used the other day, once again filled with warm cocoa.

“Oh _man_ ,” She sighed heavily as he passed the drink to her, and she curled her fingers around the mug greedily as she tucked it against her chest and bent her nose down close to it to breathe in the steamy chocolate smell. She took a small drink, and hummed pleasantly as the warmth travelled down her body. “This is perfect.”

When she opened her eyes, he was staring at her with an indiscernible expression on his face.

“You okay?” His expression shifted as his brow furrowed with concern and he tilted his head slightly, eyeballing the cut on her face.

She noticed his fingers twitch and then clench into a fist by his side, and was warmly touched realizing that he’d wanted to reach for her skin and check for himself.

“All good,” She promised, pushing those thoughts away. She was just thankful for the hot drink, that was all. “Honestly I was thinking of this cocoa the whole flight back,” She admitted.

“Grandma Mace knows what’s up,” He proclaimed seriously, and she raised her eyebrows.

“You’ve made me your grandma’s cocoa?!”

“Why is that so surprising — what, did you think I didn’t have a grandma?”

“No, no, I just — that’s really sweet!” She smiled widely as she tucked the mug close to her chest again, and he frowned as his cheeks tinged a little red.

“Sweet. Again.” He huffed. “I’ll have you know I’m the Director of a very mysterious black-ops organization,”

“Not so mysterious to me, since I’m a part of it,” She pointed out, and he pouted.

“I’m your boss!” He fussed, though they both knew that was only partially true.

“Yeah, who makes hot cocoa for his employees when they’re cold,” She teased.

“Hey, not all my employees,” He argued. “I’ve only shared this with you.”

She raised her eyebrows in surprise, and he blushed even more deeply, clearly not having intended to share that information.

“Aww, Jeffrey,”

“I swear if you say I’m sweet one more time...”

“That’s _adorable_ ,” She crooned, as if he were a kid, or a puppy, and before he could reply she stepped forward and planted a chaste kiss against his cheek. He blinked at her in surprise when she stepped back. “Thanks, Boss,” She grinned widely at him, “I won’t tell a soul about your hot cocoa secret.”

She turned around and headed back toward her quarters, no longer feeling so cold.  
  


**———**

 

“So... why are we here?” Jemma wondered, looking around hesitantly as Daisy led the way through the mall.

“I need to get a couple of things,” She replied distractedly, glancing over the map of the building before she found what she was looking for. “C’mon, I promise it’ll be quick, especially with you helping me.”

“Well, if you would tell me what it is exactly we’re looking for...” Jemma returned, following after her.

“You know those scented diffusers? I want to buy a couple. And maybe some, uh, other Christmas stuff.” Daisy admitted, and Jemma’s eyes lit up.

“Holiday shopping! I didn’t know we were doing gifts,”

“I don’t think we are. I just want to help decorate a little, is all.” Daisy said, and Jemma raised her eyebrow at her friend.

“Did you lose a bet against Hunter?” She grinned, and Daisy laughed and shook her head.

They had a fun time spending the morning together, doing something outside of SHIELD, something rather normal. When they returned home, though, Daisy insisted doing the rest herself.

“This stuff is, uh... well, if it’s all the same to you, I could come by later and we could spruce up the labs a bit more, together,” Daisy told Jemma carefully.

“Of course,” Jemma looked mildly confused about the secrecy, but didn’t press. “So long as nothing will contaminate the area,”

“Yes, of course,” Daisy teased lightly, and they shared a smile before Daisy disappeared. Jemma watched after her thoughtfully, musing over the careful specificity Daisy had spent buying the products earlier in the day.

“Hey, Cecilio,” Daisy greeted casually, and the large man grinned widely at her.

“Agent Johnson,” He greeted warmly, always formal even though she considered him something of a friend by now. “The Director isn’t in right now,” He began, but Daisy interrupted him quietly,

“That’s actually great. Can you let me in?” She asked, and he frowned slowly. “I swear I’m not gonna plant any bugs or prank him or whatever — look,” She stepped closer and held open her bag of goodies. The guard leaned over and poked through the bag, and then looked back at her with curiosity.

“You want to decorate his office?” He wondered, unsure.

“Please? It’s not a lot. And I promise to keep it very un-tacky.”

He smirked as he turned to unlock the door, and held it open for her.

“I don’t think that’s a word,” He supplied as she stepped into the room.

“You’re the best,” She replied seriously. “Keep an eye out, for me? Distract him if he comes by before I’m finished.”

“A surprise, eh?” Cecilio grinned cheekily, and nodded at her. “I’ve got it. By the way... there better not be any mistletoe hidden in that bag,”

That comment and the peculiar sparkle in his eyes made her think that perhaps he didn’t quite get it, not correctly, anyway, but she didn’t want to waste any more time. She wasn’t sure how long Jeffrey would be out.

As luck would have it, he didn’t return to base until a few hours later, and he requested a meeting with Coulson, Mack, Elena, and Daisy immediately upon seeing them hanging out together in the hall. Daisy was able to see his reaction first-hand as he led the way into his office.

“I know many of our agents have families they want to go home to, so I’m thinking — barring the end of the world — of granting some holiday leave, just over Christmas and New Years. How do you think that would go — ” Jeffrey stopped mid-sentence, and stilled in the middle of his room.

A beat of silence passed before Elena spoke up.

“Boss?”

Daisy was watching closely, so she noticed when he sniffed the air and a slow smile started to form across his face.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he approached the window on the far left of the room. There on the sill, Daisy had carefully arranged a small diorama; nothing that was too noticeable or gaudy. He leaned in close and touched his finger against one of the little snow-covered houses, his ears shifting as his smile widened.

Daisy couldn’t help but smile as well; it was apparent that he was pleased by the additions to his office.

“I...” He started softly, then straightened and cleared his throat, and turned to face them. “I would appreciate some help with the logistics of this. We’ll need to have some people stay here, to take care of the base and be on call in case something comes up,”

“I swear, if aliens try to ruin Christmas...” Mack threatened, and Elena smiled as she wrapped her arm around his, leaning into him.

“It’s a great idea, Jeff,” Coulson said encouragingly, nodding. “Of course I’ll help out with this. They all deserve a break.”

“Good for morale,” Daisy piped up, and Jeffrey gave her a deep, searching look. That warm smile hinted at the corners of his mouth, again, and she knew Coulson noticed as well because he glanced between them curiously.

“And maybe we could arrange something small here, for those of us who stay?” Elena suggested, looking up toward Mack. “That is, if you want to stay...?”

“I just want to spend it with you,” He promised, smiling down at her, and her beaming smile in return made Daisy’s heart melt.

“You two are too damn cute.” She complained, and Elena grinned over at her, shooting her a wink.

“Perhaps we could meet up later this evening and start coming up with some plans?” Jeffrey suggested, looking at them all with hesitant hopefulness. They each nodded at him, and his hesitance gave way to relief. “That’s all for now, then. I need to have a chat with Agent Johnson about something.”

“Sure,” Mack replied, leading the way out of the room. Coulson was the only one who hesitated, giving Daisy and Jeffrey that same curious expression before he left as well, closing the door behind him.

“Daisy,” Jeffrey implored, and she blushed a little at his tone as she nervously hooked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“It’s not too much, right?” She checked. “I wasn’t sure how many of those reed things to put in the diffusers; you could always take a few out if you wanted,”

He quickly closed the distance between them and pulled her against him, hugging her tightly.

“It’s perfect,” He whispered into her hair, and she smiled in relief as she slowly lifted her hands to return his embrace. “It’s perfect,” He said again after a long moment, pulling away and turning around in a circle, though there wasn’t much extra decoration to look at. He closed his eyes and smiled widely. “It smells exactly like home.”

She found herself a little amazed by the expression on his face. She’d just wanted to do a little something to thank him, something that would make him happy since he loved the holiday so much. She certainly hadn’t imagined his reaction to be this good, though.

“I thought, maybe...” She hesitated, wondering if it was a step too far. He opened his eyes and faced her again, curiously. “If you wanted, we could find a small tree. Tuck it in the corner, put some simple white lights, maybe some ribbon on it?”

“Or cover it in random ornaments and give it some character,” He joked, his eyes alight. She raised her eyebrow at him, and he shrugged. “Screw politics. It’s Christmas! If I want a tree in my office, then General Talbot will have to get over it.”

Daisy grinned widely.  
  


**———**

 

Daisy didn’t know that he legitimately followed through on the idea until he approached her in the lounge one evening, politely interrupting a gaming session she was having with Mack and Hunter.

“I need your help with something, if you don’t mind,” Jeffrey requested, and Hunter pouted.

“C’mon, Boss! Paperwork can wait until the morning! We almost had her beat!” He whined, and Daisy snorted as she rolled her eyes, pausing their game.

“Even with you two teamed up, I’m kicking your asses.” She proclaimed calmly, and Mack sighed heavily.

“I’m probably saving you guys from further embarrassment,” Jeffrey pointed out knowingly, and they looked surprised at his knowledge about her gaming talents. “And anyway, it’s not paperwork.”

“Ohhhh, it isn’t?” Hunter wondered curiously, and Mack rolled his eyes and started a new, two-player campaign.

“Better focus, Hunter, before I kick your ass,” Mack warned, and Hunter immediately turned back toward the television screen.

“Oh, you’re on, big man,”

Daisy chuckled quietly at their antics and followed Jeffrey around the couch and up the stairs toward his office.

She frowned at the darkness in the hall, but that quickly turned into a look of surprise as he opened the door to reveal the lit Christmas tree in the corner of his office.

“It’s more fun decorating with someone else,” He mused quietly, though when she turned to him his expression was hesitant.

“I’d love to help,” She assured him softly, then gesturing her head toward the large box waiting at the base of the tree. It seemed old and well-worn, various words crossed out on the side as it had been reused for different things time and again.

“Over the years, we gathered a ton of decorations that we could only use maybe half of at one time. So my parents sent this box to me a few days ago. I had to promise not to blow the place up and lose anything.” He smirked, and she snorted.

And that was how Daisy ended up decorating a Christmas tree this year, trading stories back and forth, some of them joyful and some of them not. She was fascinated by the variety of memories of his that would pop up whenever one of them would hang a particular ornament. On some levels, sentimentality had always annoyed Daisy, but over the years of befriending people like Coulson and now Jeffrey, she’d grown to understand, even appreciate sentimentality.

When they were finished, they both stepped back to get a good look at the tree. Daisy felt stupidly proud of the thing, and glancing over at Jeffrey’s face, he looked ridiculously pleased as well. She felt proud about that, too.

“I love it.” He murmured, maybe to himself, but without looking away from the soft white lights, his hand slipped into hers.

Wordlessly, she squeezed her fingers around his, returning the gesture as she looked back toward the tree.  
  


**———**

 

Daisy had just selected the movie on Netflix when footsteps sounded on the stairs behind her.

“Whatcha’ watchin’?” Jeffrey wondered, leaning over the back of the couch next to her shoulder, looking at the loading screen.

“Only one of the best holiday movies known to man,” Daisy replied. The lead actor’s name appeared on the screen a few moments later, and Jeffrey’s whole countenance lit up as he rounded the couch and plopped down at the other end.

“Oh man, Die Hard!” He gave her an amazed look. “You think Die Hard is a Christmas movie, too?” He wondered in disbelief, and she snorted.

“Of course I do,”

“Wow,” He breathed quietly, looking back toward the screen as dialogue began, “you’re amazing.”

She bit her lip as she tried and failed not to smile, but he’d said it quietly enough that she could pretend that she hadn’t heard him, to save herself from having to come up with a reply to that.

“‘Little fists with your toes,’” He quoted along, and then laughed to himself. She smirked sideways at him, and he glanced at her hesitatingly. “Oh, is it cool if I join you, or...?”

“Of course you can join me. It’s not everyday someone agrees with me about my choice in Christmas movies.” She pointed out, and reached up to tug the other blanket off of the back of the couch, tossing it over to him.

He thanked her distractedly as he slouched into the cushions and covered his legs with the blanket, already focused on the television screen once more. She smiled and settled back in as well, pleased with the company.

Not ten minutes past when Coulson and Mack meandered into the lounge, debating together over something to do with Lola.

“Is that Bruce Willis? This is Die Hard, isn’t it... Hey, mind some more company?” Coulson wondered, standing over by Jeffrey.

He glanced over at Daisy; it was originally her plan after all, anyway. She shrugged nonchalantly.

“Course not. The more the merrier, right?” She grinned, and Coulson grinned as well.

Mack plopped into one of the recliners as Coulson elbowed Jeffrey.

“Budge over,” Coulson requested, and Jeffrey hesitated before glancing in Daisy’s direction again. “Come on, I’m pretty sure she doesn’t bite,” Coulson joked, and Jeffrey shifted over to the middle cushion to give Coulson his previous spot.

“Popcorn,” Mack announced, hopping back to his feet and heading toward the kitchen. Daisy smirked and elbowed Jeffrey in the side at his fussy expression.

“They’ll settle down soon enough,” She promised, barely containing her chuckle, and just then Coulson shifted to stand up.

“I need my own blanket, it’s too damn drafty in here,”

“Here!” Jeffrey interrupted before he could stand, shoving the blanket he’d been using toward Coulson. “I’m not actually all that cold. Use this one.”

Another few minutes later, though, Daisy shifted her blanket around so she could share half of it with Jeffrey. He seemed a little embarrassed by the gesture, at first, but the other two guys were focused intently on the television screen, quoting along with the movie and laughing with each other.

He smiled at her in thanks and nestled a little more comfortably into the couch cushions. And if he was leaning a little more in her direction, she didn’t call attention to it.

At least not until a little while later, when she carefully searched out his hand beneath the blanket, and tangled their fingers loosely together.

“Ugh, I love Alan Rickman in this movie,” Daisy murmured, as if she didn’t notice when Jeffrey tightened his fingers around hers.

“Who doesn’t?” Coulson replied cheekily, and Mack chuckled. Jeffrey slowly brushed his thumb against Daisy’s skin, and she smiled softly. They continued watching the movie in relative silence, until Mack quoted along aloud,

“‘Why don’t you wake up and smell what you’re shovelin’?!’ Man, what a good line.” Mack laughed again. “I need to use that line.”

“Hopefully not toward me,” Jeffrey commented, and Mack made a noncommittal noise. Coulson snorted, and Jeffrey took a couple pieces of leftover popcorn in the bowl between them and threw them at both of the guys.

“Hey, he had a bowl all to himself! Don’t go throwing our popcorn at him!” Coulson protested, even as he laughingly brushed a couple of kernels off of his shirt.

“Sh!” Daisy ordered, drawing their attention back toward the film.

Jeffrey twisted his wrist beneath hers so he could hold her hand properly, pressing their palms together. If she snuggled in a little closer against his arm, it was only because he was warm and the room was chilly.  
  


**———**

 

“You have a Nat King Cole Christmas album?!” Daisy wondered with surprise, as she entered the office one evening.

“Well, Phil does. He’s let me borrow it while I work late.” Jeffrey admitted, looking pleased as well as exhausted.

“Why are you working so late?” She wondered, approaching his desk. “Don’t tell me you’re doing _paperwork_ ,” She groaned. “You’re as bad as Coulson.”

“Being Director isn’t all fun and games, you know,” Jeffrey replied wryly, with a tilt of his eyebrow.

“Clearly.” Daisy replied, giving him a look of her own. He sighed quietly when she didn’t do or say anything else.

“I want to get this done before I send everyone off tomorrow. So no one else has to worry about doing it when they get back.” He admitted, and her gaze softened.

“You mean, so Phil won’t end up doing it while we’re all hanging out here over the break.” She clarified, and Jeffrey shifted a little in his seat, but nodded.

“As we discussed not doing the presents thing, I figured this could be my gift to him,” Jeffrey shrugged half-heartedly, mildly embarrassed.

“That’s...” She started to smile, and then paused. He narrowed his eyes at her, and sighed heavily.

“Say it.” He muttered.

“Sweet.” She drawled, grinning slowly, and he chuckled and shook his head, though he gazed up at her fondly.

She realized they were just looking at one another while Nat continued to wish them a Merry Christmas, and Daisy reached her hand out when the song changed to another familiar tune. Jeffrey looked momentarily confused, and she wiggled her fingers.

“Come on, take a little break.” She encouraged. “Then I could help you with the paperwork.” He got to his feet slowly, but he did step around the side of his desk.

“What are we doing?” He wondered, putting his hand atop hers.

“Dancing,” She replied, shifting their hold as she tugged him closer, resting her other hand on his shoulder.

He immediately adopted the proper stance, though they mostly swayed together than outright danced. He looked nervous at first, and she stepped closer to him, tucking her chin against his shoulder, next to her hand. She felt him breathe in deeply, but then he relaxed, and swayed to the song more comfortably.

“I remember when I was really little, one of the nuns would sing this song to me when I couldn’t sleep. All year long, too. Not just during Christmas.” Daisy admitted quietly, speaking mostly into the fabric of his shirt as she looked out the window behind him. It was snowing again.

She hadn’t told anyone that, before.

He secured his arm more firmly around her back, hugging her to him as he rested his cheek against her hair.

They continued to dance like that through the next song, and then he slowly pulled back a little, looking like he didn’t really want to.

“I should finish up,” He said half-heartedly, though he didn’t completely remove his hands from her yet.

“Let me help,” She suggested again, and he eventually nodded.

“Thank you, Daisy.” He murmured, gazing at her intently. She returned the expression for a moment, before quietly clearing her throat and stepping back enough that their hands fell from one another.

“Everyone should dance every now and then,” She teased flippantly, trying to lighten the air in the room a bit.

“Thank you for more than that,” He sort of clarified, and she smiled slowly and gave him a small nod.

He blinked at her, clearly contemplating saying something else, but eventually he turned and rounded his desk once more, settling in his chair and flipping open one of the remaining files in front of him.

She made herself comfortable in one of the chairs across from him, picking up another file and propping it atop her bent knee as she studied it.

Glancing toward him briefly a minute later, she was pleased to find a small, distracted smile quirking his lips. She knew it wasn’t to do with the words he was reading on the page; rather, the company she provided him.  
  


**———**

 

Three days in to the “break”, most of those who stayed behind on base were getting antsy with cabin fever. The weather had gotten nasty again and no one had dared step outside. This was the first clear day, and Daisy announced that she was going for a walk.

“Are you kidding?” Coulson wondered, and she raised her eyebrow at him.

“Come on — all bundled up in a hat and coat, no one will recognize me. Besides, I doubt many other people are out and about today.” She pointed out. “You should tag along. Lord knows you need fresh air just as much as I do,” She rolled her eyes.

And that was how Daisy, Jemma, Coulson, Hunter, Bobbi, May, and Piper ended up taking a stroll together around the snow-blanketed city.

Daisy was mildly disappointed Jeffrey didn’t join them, honestly, but he claimed Talbot had phoned in and they needed to talk business for a bit. Leave it to Talbot to wait to take a break until the very last minute.

It was eerily quiet outside; even though they were in a northern city, it had still snowed enough that the infrastructure employees decided to wait it out for a few days before going after it with plows and salt. There were some other people walking about, and a few cars every now and then, but the locals knew better than to drive around willy-nilly in this stuff if they didn’t have the vehicle to handle it.

It was almost _too_  peaceful, and looking at Coulson, Daisy could see that he was feeling the same way. She skipped to catch up with him and tucked her arm around his, leaning against him companionably for a moment.

“This is really weird, right,” She mentioned, and he nodded almost with relief.

“Yeah, it is.” He admitted. “I’m just waiting for the shoe to drop, you know?”

“Yeah...” She agreed, trailing off. He seemed to relax, though, knowing that he wasn’t the only one feeling the way he was.

The group of them walked in companionable silence, those who chatted with one another did so quietly, in mutual understanding not to break the feeling of softness around them. Daisy, for the first time in many years, finally felt a sense of peace.

Maybe it would only be for today, but she was safe. Her friends were safe. And, by looking at them all now, she could see that they were happy. Even May, walking hand-in-hand with Piper, was smiling more than Daisy had seen in quite a while.

“Daisy?” Coulson wondered softly, his voice low so no one else overheard him. She looked over at him questioningly. “Are you happy?”

“Yeah,” She replied thoughtfully. “Earlier I couldn’t have said that, but... yeah, I’m happy.” He looked very pleased to hear that. “Are you? Happy?”

“I’m...” He glanced ahead toward Bobbi and Hunter, who were cuddling as they walked together, and then back toward the rest of the group behind them. “I think so, yeah. I think I’m happy, too.” He sounded almost in disbelief about that, and she squeezed his arm.

“You deserve it.” She murmured. He nodded silently and watched his feet as they walked, no doubt attempting to hide his emotion from her. She squeezed his arm once more before slipping free and falling back to walk with Jemma, giving him some privacy.

She’d seen him, over the years, have his moments, but she wasn’t sure he’s been truly content since perhaps New York. As difficult as it was for her to accept her moment of peace, she couldn’t imagine what it must be like for Coulson.

A few ideas began to form in her mind, and as she contemplated over them, she hoped it wasn’t too late to put them into action.

“Can I ask you something?” Jemma asked after a moment, interrupting Daisy’s spaced musing.

“Sure, ‘course,”

“Those things we bought earlier in the month, those were for Director Mace’s office, weren’t they,” She figured, and Daisy glanced at her, hoping her expression was casual even though she suddenly felt mildly nervous. “I noticed the other day, it smelled a bit like those scented oils we’d hunted down.”

“We didn’t _hunt them down_ ,” Daisy protested, and Jemma raised her eyebrow in disagreement. Daisy sighed. “Yeah, they were for him. I wanted to surprise him with a little Christmas. It’s his favorite holiday and nothing was really decorated much at the time,”

“Is it his favorite?” Jemma wondered. “I didn’t know that.” Her tone didn’t reveal much of what she was really thinking, but Daisy narrowed her eyes slightly in defense, anyway.

“I didn’t either, until he told me.” She replied as nonchalantly as possible.

“That’s sweet of you, Daisy,” Jemma smiled warmly, and Daisy was only glad that Jeffrey wasn’t here to crow ‘ha!’ at her. “Honestly, I think it’s wonderful that you two — ”

Footsteps jogging up in the snow behind them made her pause, and they all glanced back to see who it was.

Daisy had expected Mack and Elena to join them soon, so she was surprised to see Jeffrey, who’d apparently managed to get away from Talbot. She realized she was checking him out a bit — he looked quite handsome bundled up in his long black coat and dark blue scarf, his breaths puffing out into the cold air — and she ducked her face down as she quickly wrangled a hold over her wayward thoughts.

“Director,” Piper greeted, surprised as well to see him, and he smiled a bit haphazardly.

“Can I join you guys?” He requested, and Hunter snorted.

“Well you’re already here, aren’t you?” He joked, and Bobbi elbowed his side and kicked a foot-full of snow at his legs. “Oi, hey!” Hunter protested, unsuccessfully trying to hop out of the way.

“Jeffrey’s fine, please,” He told them all. “I’m officially on a holiday break, myself, and I don’t want to hear ‘Director’ again unless it’s an emergency.”

“Yes, sir.” May replied dryly, making the others smirk with amusement. Jeffrey hesitated, unsure of how to handle May joking, and then merely nodded once before skipping up to walk at the other side of Jemma.

“Dr. Simmons! How are you? I feel like we don’t talk unless it’s about my health, or someone else’s health, or aliens. ...Or robots...”

Jemma gave him a wry, amused smile, and then gave the same expression toward Daisy.

“I’m well... Jeffrey.” She’d almost called him ‘Director Mace’. “I’ve just remembered something I’ve been meaning to ask Coulson about, if you don’t mind. I don’t want to forget, again,” She gave Daisy another one of those amused looks and picked up her pace a little to tag along with Coulson.

“What did I say?” Jeffrey wondered, and Daisy shook her head, hoping she wasn’t blushing with as embarrassed as she felt.

“Nothing, it’s not you,” Daisy sighed.

“Oh.” Jeffrey left it at that, and quickly fell into step with Daisy, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his coat. He stood close enough that their arms brushed with each step, and Daisy looked at him sideways.

“You didn’t actually have a question for Jemma, did you?” Daisy called him out, and he looked affronted.

“I sincerely care how my team is doing!” He argued, and Daisy smirked. He hesitated, but then dropped the act. “I didn’t want to be rude...” He muttered, and she chuckled quietly and pulled her hand from her own pocket so she could tuck her arm around his elbow, much as she had walked with Coulson earlier.

Except, she also curled her other arm around his as well, outright nestling into his side as they walked. She didn’t mind that most of the team could see them; she was just glad that he had joined them out here.

“I think she understands,” Daisy promised, and he tilted his weight against her for a moment, a fond gesture, but after a beat he asked quietly,

“Understands what?”

His tone was conflicted, full of many different things, and Daisy looked at him carefully as she gauged her response.

“Understands...” She furrowed her brow as she tried to find the words she wanted. She wasn’t sure if _she_ understood, honestly. “This.”

“And what is this?” He asked even quieter than before, and suddenly Daisy felt nervous again. She unconsciously squeezed his arm a little tighter.

She wasn’t sure she had an answer for that, at least not yet. He perhaps understood; he didn’t press the question as they continued on down the sidewalk.

It began to flurry lightly again after a while, so they decided to turn around and head back. The cold was seeping through their layers of clothes by now, anyway. Snow started to stick to his shoulders and hair, and she was suddenly one hundred percent sure that had the two of them been alone, she might’ve gone in for a kiss right now. She paused, and he stopped with her, and May and Piper just walked around them, not paying much attention outside of their own conversation.

“Everything okay?” He wondered, but she was too busy mentally arguing with herself to answer him.

Of course it wasn’t okay; she couldn’t just randomly kiss him in the middle of the street, in the middle of their friends. She’d grown particularly fond of him over the last few weeks, for sure, but kissing was something else entirely.

Something she was quickly realizing she very much wanted to do.

His tongue darted out against his lips, and she suddenly looked away, knowing that he’d noticed her staring. It had probably been an unconscious reaction, but _still_ , she’d been staring at his mouth and he’d caught her.

“Everything’s fine,” She managed, lightly casual as if nothing had happened. She began walking again, her arm still around his, so he was forced to start walking again as well. “I’m glad you joined us today.” She added sincerely after she felt calm again, and he seemed to relax at that.

“I’m glad I did, too.”  
  


**———**

 

The week before Christmas, Daisy, with the help of Jeffrey, helped confirm a few visitors to the base for Christmas Eve drinks. There wouldn’t be a party or anything, but the team had all agreed to get together and simply hang out as a group that night.

Daisy thought that the addition of some old friends would please Coulson. Outside of managing those plans, though, she and Jeffrey seemed to be in awkward footing with one another. She didn’t want to be presumptuous and assume that he was avoiding her, but... it seemed like he was avoiding her.

All those extra little moments together stopped happening, and he was constantly heading on and off base, never telling anyone where he was going. She figured he had his own life and could spend his break how he wanted — maybe he was even visiting his parents, somehow.

Though she wasn’t sure that was it, since he was never gone for more than a few hours at a time.

She found out why on Christmas Eve morning, when there was a knock on her door. It was early, and she opened it bleary-eyed to find Jeffrey standing there. He was rather nicely dressed, too, and she blinked owlishly at him.

“If it’s alright with you, I’d like to take you somewhere.” He announced. She rubbed her fingers against her eyes and blinked at him again, still trying to wake up. “I’m sorry it’s pretty early, but I wanted to give you time enough to... well, if you want to come with me, to get ready.”

“Ready for what?” She wondered.

“I’d like to take you to a church,” He said in a tone that revealed he was using all the nerve he had to speak.

“Did you just propose?” She blurted, and he gaped for a moment.

“No! No! I mean, not that I — I mean,” He floundered for a second, blushing deeply. “Holy shit, Daisy, it’s Christmas Eve!”

“Oh.” She remembered. She yawned away the rest of her sleepiness and blinked at him again. “Did you just actually say the words ‘Holy shit, it’s Christmas Eve’?”

“Maybe that was bad form,” He grimaced, but then mused, “But if shit could ever be holy, it would probably be on Christmas Eve.” She snorted with amusement.

“You want to go to a Christmas Eve service?” She wondered softly, and he nodded.

“And I’d like you to come with me, if that’s alright with you.”

“I’d love to.” She smiled. “How much time do I have?”

“An hour,” He replied, shuffling his feet although his expression was one of relief.

“More than enough,” She nodded, taking a look at the color of the tie he chose for the morning. Red, perfect — she had a nice, simple dress that would match it well.

“I could make breakfast!” He offered almost as she’d shut the door between them.

She opened it wider again, quickly musing over that. She didn’t normally eat quite this early, but he looked like he desperately needed something to keep him busy, so she nodded.

“Something light?” She requested. “I think the team’s got some big dinner plans for later.”

“Yeah, of course,” He nodded, turning and heading rather quickly in the direction of the kitchen.

Daisy smiled to herself as she closed her door, and she allowed herself a moment to lean against it as her smile grew.

Later, as the service ended around nine-thirty, Daisy figured Jeffrey must have spent the past week visiting churches and trying to find the right kind of place for today. She appreciated the thought that went behind the gesture, and especially that he thought she would be interested in such a thing, even though she hadn’t outwardly told him that she’d missed it.

“The way you’ve talked about your past Christmases, I got the impression that you might miss this part of it... I wasn’t sure, of course — and I really had no idea what denomination to choose, which is why we ended up here at a community church,” He rambled nervously as they sat in the car together, waiting for it to warm up and for the parking lot to empty out a bit.

“My orphanage was Catholic, but I’m not. This was... simple, and straightforward, and perfect.” She told him. He smiled, the movement creasing the corners of his eyes and making them seem bluer than before.

“Thank you for sharing this with me,” He murmured, pleased to be a part of something that he knew was very personal for her.

With no second thoughts or doubts, Daisy leaned over and pressed her lips against his cheek, just as she’d done in the past, though she made sure to linger there a bit this time.

“Thank _you_ ,” She whispered against his skin before she pulled away. He was looking at her with nothing short of adoration, and she knew they’d better get going before they got too distracted. “I’ll text Agent Hill and let her know we’re on our way,” Daisy announced as she settled into her seat and pulled out her phone.

Jeffrey cleared his throat and nodded, shifting the SUV into gear.

“I can’t wait to meet Romanov — I mean, come on, _the Black Widow_ ,” His eyes sparkled with delight, and Daisy rolled her eyes as she typed out her text to Maria. “I can’t believe Phil used to be Barton and Romanov’s _handler_ ; that’s insane,”

“He was team lead for the Avengers, did you forget that?” Daisy reminded, and he sucked in a loud breath.

“No!” He replied, even more excited than before, and Daisy quietly groaned.

“Please don’t fanboy too hard, okay? Phil is bad enough with that,”

She focused on the logistics of sneaking the three old agents on base, in effort to ignore her side-thoughts about the smell of Jeffrey’s aftershave and the smoothness of his jaw.  
  


**———**

 

In the end, it was the mistletoe. (It was always the mistletoe, wasn’t it?)

Sometime while they’d been out during the day, Hunter had hung one more sprig of it, strategically above a well-used area in the lounge. People almost always passed under this spot whether they were headed toward the lounge itself, or toward the kitchen, so he’d been fairly confident he would catch some people.

Jeffrey still wasn’t amused.

“This is —! This isn’t even fair!” He complained. “This is an illegal formation!”

“You can’t use your pigskin ball terms against me!” Hunter crowed, delighted. Jemma had actually been the one to point out, unnecessarily loudly, to Daisy and Jeffrey that they were standing beneath the dreaded plant.

“This thing is practically _impossible_ to avoid!” Jeffrey pouted, gesturing again at it’s placement.

“That’s the point!” Hunter giggled, and pointed his finger at Daisy impatiently.

Jeffrey glanced at her hesitantly, and she barely managed to contain her smirk. In light of the joyful mood in the room, and the rum and eggnog in her belly, she chose to be amused by the whole situation, rather than annoyed.

“Go on, then, we all know you want to.” Coulson piped up, and Jeffrey opened his mouth and started to turn to gape at him.

Daisy took the moment to grasp the front of his shirt and lift up on her toes (maybe she should have kept her boots on, if only to make this easier for her), tugging him firmly against her. He looked back at her in surprise, and she didn’t hesitate to press her mouth against his.

He froze, his fingers ghosting above her arms for a moment, before he shifted his lips a little and then began kissing her back. His hands slowly slid around her back more firmly, holding her against his chest as he slanted his head and pressed in, kissing her deeply.

Oh — why hadn’t she done this earlier?

“ _Daisy_ wanted to!” Hunter crowed joyfully. “Bobbi, you owe me twenty!”

“Oh stuff it, Hunter,” Bobbi rolled her eyes.

“I don’t think Hunter’s the one who’s stuffing it,” May half-chortled, and Jeffrey pulled his tongue back into his own mouth as he tried to turn to glare at her, or defend himself, or who knows what — Daisy yanked him back before he could speak. She didn’t want to stop kissing him, yet.

She slipped her hands around the back of his neck, holding him close as she quietly hummed into his mouth. His jaw fell open a little wider, and she curled her tongue against the roof of his mouth.

“Alright, alright, get a room!” Natasha complained, throwing one of the crackers from Clint’s plate at the back of Jeffrey’s head.

“Hey!” Clint complained.

Daisy shifted her weight back onto her heels slowly, too focused on the feel and taste of Jeffrey to care about their audience. He leaned with her, briefly, loathe to break the moment as well. When she opened her eyes to look at him, his were still closed.

And the expression on his face had her automatically leaning in and closing the distance between them again.

“Hey hey, okay!” Coulson put a hand on both of their shoulders and forced them to step apart. “Damn it, Hunter,” Coulson complained.

“ _You’re_ the one who told them to just get it over with,” Hunter pointed out.

“I didn’t figure they’d start making out in front of us!” Coulson protested.

“Uh oh,” Elena smirked widely, pointing. “Don’t look now, Agent Coulson, but...” She laughed, and he groaned as he barely glanced upward before propping his hands on his hips.

“This doesn’t count! I was separating these two!” He argued, stepping to the side out from directly underneath the mistletoe.

“Rules are rules,” Bobbi shrugged, and Mack was the only one who didn’t nod in agreement. He looked perturbed, but he still also looked amused, so Coulson didn’t hold out much hope that he would have backup here.

Daisy was finding it difficult to follow along, because Jeffrey was looking deliciously just-kissed, and he was eyeing her in a way that made her spine tingle and her teeth bite into her bottom lip.

“Stop undressing one another with your eyes,” Piper called loudly toward them, “and kiss Coulson!”

“What?” Jeffrey startled, finally focusing on the room around him. Then he realized Coulson was standing beside he and Daisy, and he rolled his eyes as he propped his hands on his hips. “I’m not kissing Phillip.” He chuckled lightly.

“Let him off the hook,” Daisy reasoned. “Just on the cheek. We’ll do it at the same time, okay?” She grabbed onto Coulson’s right arm before he could move away.

“Hey, don’t I get a say in this?” Coulson protested, extremely lackadaisical about his defense. He definitely had a secretive smile on his face, and May noticed it.

“Oh, please. You’d kill for a superhero threesome.” May announced dryly, and everyone grew silent for a solid few seconds.

“Okay, it’s a damn mistletoe,” Jeffrey finally spoke up. “We’re not propositioning one another here!”

“I don’t know, it sure looked like you and Daisy were propositioning something,” Clint piped up, and Daisy pursed her lips and shot a gentle burst of energy in his direction, just enough to flip him and his chair over onto the floor.

As a few of the others snickered at his plight, Jeffrey grabbed onto Coulson’s left arm, looked at Daisy, and then the two of them simultaneously leaned in and pressed a kiss on Coulson’s face. Daisy tried to make the gesture fond, since she _did_ love Coulson on some level and kissing his cheek certainly wasn’t gross by any means. She was curious to see that Jeffrey seemed to practically mirror her, his kiss chaste but lingering a bit as well.

When they both straightened, Coulson’s ears were red, but that smile that threatened to cross his face was even more prominent.

“Hey, hey, it’s supposed to be on the mouth!” Hunter frowned, and Coulson laughed somewhat embarrassedly, sounding like he was releasing a lot of nervous energy with the noise. Daisy and Jeffrey both let go of him, giving him the freedom to move back to his seat.

“I got away fine with a kiss on the cheek earlier,” Coulson pointed out, sounding more like his usual self, and Hunter pouted at him.

“That’s because there’s no way in hell I would try to make Natasha Romanov do anything she didn’t want to do,” Hunter defended himself, and Natasha looked at Coulson and raised her eyebrow coyly.

“Who ever said I wouldn’t want to kiss Coulson on the mouth?” She joked, her tone wry and suggestive.

“Who ever said that you haven’t, before?” Clint piped up in the same tone, and Daisy stared between all three of them.

“ _What_ ,” She demanded, and Coulson laughed again, this time a little more assuredly.

“Classified, Agent Johnson.” He replied, now heading back to his seat, and she turned her wide-eyed stare toward Jeffrey.

He held his hands up defensively, before moving away and reaching for his drink on the dining table.

“Need I remind you, I’m off-duty. No Directorial powers, here.” He said.

Hunter was sufficiently distracted by the new topic, now, though, so Jeffrey looked at Daisy and gave her a quick gesture of his head toward the stairway.

“I’ll be right back,” He announced in case anyone was still paying attention to him, and headed up toward his office.

“Hey, he’d better not be working,” Piper spoke up, warning as she saw him walk up the stairwell. “I thought we’d have to fight to keep Coulson in here, not Mace!”

“Go get him, Daisy,” Jemma requested.

“What — why me?” Daisy protested, having just decided to snag her plate and start eating again.

“That’s rhetorical, right?” Jemma replied dryly, giving her friend a look. Daisy huffed at her, swallowed her food down with a sip of her drink, and made a show of setting her utensils back on the table, then dragging her feet up the stairway.

Of course, her heart was really pounding in her throat, and she had to keep herself from bounding up the steps two at a time.

“If you don’t come back down in five minutes, I’m coming up there with a bucket of cold water.” May warned, and Daisy did freeze halfway up the stairs at that, staring down at her S.O. with surprise. “What?” May wondered calmly. “I wasn’t born yesterday. That was way more than a damn ridiculous holiday tradition kind of kiss.”

“I’m just... going to bring him back...” Daisy muttered hesitantly, jutting her thumb up the stairs before continuing to ascend them, a little faster than before.

“Do they really think we’re _that_ blind?” May snorted.

“Seriously, I spent five minutes in the car with them this morning and had them dead to rights.” Clint replied, and Natasha scoffed,

“You did not, _I’m_ the one who figured them out,”

Daisy quickly hurried out of earshot, not sure how she felt about all of her friends apparently knowing just how much she and Jeffrey cared for one another before the two of them even did. This all felt relatively new to her even if the team didn’t think so, and she didn’t care so much about what their opinions were right now; she wanted to know what Jeffrey was thinking.

His wanting to get out of the room worried her a little, but the fact that he’d indicated she follow him helped ease that. Perhaps he just wanted privacy to talk this out — because May had certainly been right about one thing: that had not been a simple mistletoe kiss.

Jeffrey was standing in the middle of his office when she entered, no lights on other than the tree. She barely even got the chance to open her mouth to speak before he was upon her, his arms circling her as he kissed her hard, his tongue thoroughly exploring her own. Her words she’d been about to say quickly died out, and she gripped the sides of his shirt as she stumbled a little. She moaned as he maneuvered his mouth, his teeth nipping at her lip.

Okay, so maybe he didn’t want to talk. She was fine with that, too.

Her fingers shook as she tugged the back of his shirt, pulling it free from his trousers so she could press her palms against his warm skin.

He turned and guided her back, pushing her against the wall next to his window, his hands sliding over her sweater as if he couldn’t decide whether or not to remove it himself or just shove his hands up beneath it.

She’d gotten his shirt half unbuttoned when he finally, breathing heavily, tilted to pull his mouth away and press his forehead against hers. He gently covered her hands with his own, halting her movements as they both tried to catch their breath.

“Wait, wait — we can’t do this like this,” He managed to say around a swallow.

“What, in the office?” She wondered, trying to clear her head. She was a little amazed by how far they’d gotten that suddenly, and she willed her body to relax.

“I mean, like this!” He seemed frustrated, so when he pulled away, she allowed her hands to fall to her sides, and merely leaned there against the wall as she watched him. “Damn it, Daisy, I want you.” He admitted, and she raised her eyebrows.

“Well, you might be interested to know that I want you, too,”

He stepped close again suddenly, pressing his forehead against hers once more.

“I want you so much I can’t think straight,” He whispered, his tone deep and cracking. It made her shiver with arousal, but she forced herself to keep her hands by her sides. He still wore a troubled expression. “But it’s not just that, Daisy. It’s not just _want_ ,”

“You love me.” She realized, discovering as she said it aloud that she wasn’t surprised by that.

“I love you.” He agreed, almost gravely. “I want you, I desire you. Not just... this, but the touch of your hand. The gaze of your eye. The sound of your laugh. I want to know what you’re thinking, what you dream of, what you love and what you hate. I desire you completely.”

Daisy wasn’t sure she had the words to respond to that. She knew, immediately and intimately, that she felt the same about him, but she couldn’t just stand there and say “ditto”. Not after _that_.

“This isn’t just... convenience, or lust, for me either.” She told him carefully. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I _really_ want to see you naked all of a sudden,” She raised her eyebrows with emphasis, “like, pronto — but that’s not _all_ I want.”

He looked shyly hopeful, which was somewhat odd considering they’d been making out just a minute ago.

“Jeffrey, it was your heart that won me over. Everything else is just a bonus,” Daisy half-admitted, half-joked, trying to ease the tension between them.

“You’re the best thing to ever happen to a bum like me,” Jeffrey murmured seriously, and Daisy smiled softly at his quote, cradling his face between her hands.

“Even over becoming a superhero?” She teased him again, and he gave her a lopsided smile.

“Absolutely.”

She was overwhelmed, momentarily, and wasn’t sure what to say next.

“Is this just because of Christmas?” Daisy blurted, not believing that herself, but needing to ask the question anyway. He shook his head firmly.

“No, Daisy. This was a long time coming,” He admitted. She smiled warmly, relieved, and then gave him a bit of a cheeky look.

“How long?” She wondered, and he opened his mouth and then closed it again.

“Are you going to kiss me?” He eventually asked instead. “Because this kind of feels like you’re about to kiss me, but, — ”

He was right about that — so she did. Tender but ardent, there was no guessing or assuming about this kiss — she made sure to get her full point across. Somewhere along the way she’d fallen in love with him, too, and if she didn’t have the words for it, then she would show him.

He kissed her in return, mirroring his hands on her own face. He was warm and immediately receptive to her, letting her control the kiss this time, and she stepped close again, pressing herself against his body once more. He slanted his mouth and carded his fingers through her hair, kissing her deeply and slowly.

She trailed her nails along his cheeks, down his neck, across the shirt over his chest, until she reached the buttons and finished opening them. He immediately dropped his hands down to her butt, curling his fingers and squeezing. She chuckled against his lips, and shifted her hips up against his, hopping a little on her toes. He smiled and reached down further to hoist her up by her thighs, his hands sliding back around to her butt when she tightened her legs around him.

He was warm and solid and she briefly had the thought that she could just cuddle him for hours and be totally contented — but also, he was as aroused as she and she could feel the firmness of it through their layers of clothes.

He stepped forward until her back was pressed against the bricks again, his hands now free to card through her hair. She flattened her hands against his skin, feeling the way his muscles contracted as he languidly rolled his hips, putting his entire body into the movement.

“Jeff,” She groaned quietly between kisses, trailing a hand down his spine. If this felt this good with their pants _on_ , then —

“Damn it, I knew it,”

Just as they jerked their mouths apart, surprised by May’s voice, they were both hit with cold water.

“Shhhhh-it!” Jeffrey hissed, pulling back, and Daisy immediately lowered her feet to the floor so he wouldn’t have to worry about dropping her. She wiped the water droplets from her face as she watched him arch his back uncomfortably and tug at the back of his shirt. He’d probably gotten the brunt of it, but at least it was only a glassful, instead of the bucket May had threatened.

“Straighten yourselves out and get back downstairs.” May ordered, rolling her eyes heavily. “And don’t make that face at me, alright — I won’t tell the others what I saw up here.” She pointedly set the now empty glass firmly onto Jeffrey’s desk, raising her eyebrow at the both of them. “At least hang around with us all until midnight. Everyone wants you there.”

“You’d threatened us in front of everybody! They’re gonna know, anyway, when you don’t have your glass of water and we walk down there half-soaking wet!” Daisy hissed.

May shrugged innocently, and then smirked a little before she turned and left the office.

“Yeah, we probably shouldn’t have done this in the office,” Daisy admitted with a sigh, straightening out her sweater as Jeffrey brushed his hand vigorously through his hair.

“I should’ve closed the damn door,” He muttered, beginning to button his shirt. Daisy immediately stopped him, pushing the fabric apart for him to remove it. “Isn’t this how we got into trouble?” He mused, notably letting her take his shirt off, anyway.

“Most of that water landed on you. Maybe with a dry shirt no one will know anything happened,” Daisy reasoned, and couldn’t help openly eyeing him up and down for a moment. He shifted on his feet, but then quirked a smile and straightened his shoulders a bit. “You know,” She murmured, dropping the wet shirt onto the floor and stepping close to him, “I have to admit something.”

She paused, and he raised his eyebrow.

“And that is?”

“I always thought you looked good in that Patriot suit.” She whispered secretively, and his eyes lit up. “But I think you look even better out of it,” She touched her fingers against his chest, and slowly slid them down his stomach. His muscles twitched beneath her hand and his eyes darkened again.

“Daisy,” He quietly growled, and she lowered her hand to her side, and took a step back.

“This is how we got into trouble,” She reminded them both, and turned away to step around behind his desk. “I bet...” She murmured to herself as she pulled open one of the lower drawers of his desk, trying not watch when he readjusted his trousers. She closed that drawer and opened the bottom drawer on the other side, and glanced up to grin at Jeffrey knowingly. “Spare shirt in the desk drawer. So predictable.” She teased.

“Hey, I might spill something on myself while eating lunch! I don’t always have time to go back to my room and dig through my closet before my next meeting.” He pouted, and she kept the grin on her face as she kicked the drawer closed and shook open the carefully folded shirt.

“One should always be prepared for emergencies,” She agreed, approaching him again. “Turn,” She requested, holding the shirt up by the collar.

He looked a little amused as he did as requested, slipping his arms into the shirt as she tugged it up over his back. She guided him back around with her hands on his shoulders, and then began buttoning it up. He smiled warmly at her as he stood still and watched her work.

She smoothed her hand down the front when she finished, and he reached up to brush his thumb against the curve of her temple, brushing away a drop of water. He curled her hair behind her ear and tilted to press his lips against her forehead.

“You smell so good,” He sighed, and she rubbed her thumbs against his shirt a few times before she gently pushed him away.

“No more spare shirts,” She reasoned, “Let’s not make May come back up here.”

He sighed heavily, petulantly, but nodded and began shoving the ends of his shirt into the waist of his trousers. She looked away and focused on straightening herself out, lest she be distracted yet again.

“Let’s go spend Christmas Eve with the team, huh?” She suggested once she felt settled. When she reached for his hand, his answering smile was almost boyish as he weaved their fingers together.

* * *

 

 


End file.
